How To Play Golf | by H. J. Whigham

Chapter I. Advice To Beginners

The term beginner, as applied to the game of golf, covers a multitude of varying aims and aspirations; and since advice is surely wasted upon those who either do not need it or have no desire for it, ...

The Position Of The Hands

The club having been selected, attention should be given to the grip. There are only two possible positions for the hands in driving, and they are shown on the opposite page. The position of the left ...

The Stance

Let the novice grasp his club in one of the manners described, and stand square to the ball, not stooping too much, nor yet uncompromisingly rigid. The books tell him that he may stand, as regards th...

The Swing

Here is the crucial point. He will probably be persuaded to imitate the long swing of his professional adviser. If he does so, he is almost certainly lost. There are exceptions even to this rule, but ...

The Finish Of The Stroke

I hope, then, that the advantages of the short swing for those who begin golf comparatively late in life, are by this time sufficiently apparent. Having adopted this method, the beginner must remember...

Golf Driving. American Style

Mr. W. R. Betts Mr. A. H. Fenn Mr. J. A. Tyng. Mr. H. M. Harriman. Mr. W. R. Betts. Yale Golf Club I. At the Top of the Swing II. Coming Through III. The Finish. I II III Mr. A. H. Fenn....

Chapter II. The Long Game

The young golfer who has learned with some difficulty to play a moderately steady game is certain to experience relapses from time to time, and it is the object of the present chapter to point out the...

Allowing For Wind

A great many golfers who have risen well into the second rank, find that their game deteriorates tremendously in a high wind. Even the best players are often disturbed by the elements, and it seems to...

Driving with a Cross Wind

A wind that blows across the course is rather more difficult to deal with. Under such circumstances a ball that is driven absolutely straight will suffer a certain hindrance. You may, however, make su...

On Long Driving

Long driving has so many fascinations, especially for the beginner, that any discovery of a royal road toward acquiring the habit would be exceedingly welcome. Unfortunately there is no possibility of...

Brassey Play

The term brassey play is generally applied to all the strokes madethrough the green with a wooden club. And yet the less the brassey is used the better it will be, both for the green and the player. C...

Golf Driving. Scotch Style

Mr. H. J. Whigham Mr. C. B. Macdonald Mr. F. S. Douglas. Mr. H. J. Whigham. Onwentsia Club Mr. C. B. Macdonald. Chicago Golf Club Mr. F. S. Dougl...

Chapter III. Iron Play

The approach shot in all its various forms is the most difficult and the most important part of the game of golf, and yet it is the stroke which the beginner, as a rule, practices least and attempts m...

The Hands

In gripping the club the player may adopt the same position of the hands as in driving, but it would be better in playing so short an approach as this, if he would relax the grip of the left hand and ...

Longer Approaches

When you have learned to play a thirty or forty-yard approach with fair accuracy, you may begin to move farther away from the hole; but do not lengthen your swing more than is absolutely necessary. Wh...

The Three-quarters Shot

This half stroke will take you back to a hundred yards from the hole with ease, and then you will find yourself in a dilemma. A full shot will take you too far, and a half shot will hardly reach the g...

The Refinements Of Iron Play

If the young player has learned to play the half stroke in the manner described, and has also mastered the three-quarters shot so that he is fairly certain of the results, he will still find that ther...

Back Spin And The Cut Stroke

I have hardly seen a course in America where back spin is a positive necessity. On the straightforward courses like that of the Chicago Golf Club it is possible to approach almost every hole with an o...

Running Up

There is another kind of approach which is used with great effect on greens like St. Andrews in Scotland, and that is the running-up shot played either with the cleek or the wooden putter. This method...

The Full Iron Shot

So far I have not mentioned the full shot with the iron or cleek, because, properly speaking, that comes under the head of driving. The only thing to remember in using the iron club in distinction fro...

Chapter IV. Putting

Every sort of instrument, from a respectable wooden putter to a croquet mallet or a billiard cue, has been used, and used successfully, on the putting green. No style or position is left untried, no m...

The Pendulum Stroke

The best putters who use the iron club employ the wrists to a considerable extent, and let the head swing backward and forward like a pendulum. There is no doubt that this is a very effective method, ...

The Wooden Putter

But of all the putters, there is not one which is so trustworthy as the oldest of all - the wooden putter. New clubs for use on the green are invented from time to time, and win adherents, but in the ...

The Distinction Between Courses

Great latitude, as may be observed, is permissible in the choice of clubs for use on the putting green. There is this much to be said, however: On courses in Scotland and England it would be perfectly...

Chapter V. Miscellaneous Suggestions

It is always hard for the experienced player in any game to sympathize with the difficulties of the beginner. In golf, the only way in which the expert can in any way put himself in the duffer's place...

The Selection Of Clubs

There is a certain hindrance in the way of the novice, from the very nature of thing's. He would probably use up a larger number of the fine shafts and delicately turned heads that are made for men wh...

The Club Weight

In order to choose most wisely, think first of all about the weight. It would not be an exaggeration to say that two-thirds of the men who are attempting to play golf in America at the present time ar...

The Club Shaft

First, then, make up your mind as to the weight of your wooden club; and then look at the shaft. It is the fashion from time to time to adopt a thick, stiff shaft, but no one has ever explained why th...

The Shape Of The Club Head

As for the shape of the head,you should use a bulger with plenty of wood in it. There is a tendency among bad club makers to turn out drivers with a great deal of material in the neck, but too narrow ...

The Brassey

I have already pointed out that the brassey should resemble the driver, both in weight and lie. The more uniform you can make your clubs in that respect, the greater will be your steadiness. And for t...

Iron Clubs

In the selection of iron clubs there is great scope for variety of taste. I have already warned the beginner against the use of a very lofted club, for reasons just stated with reference to the spoon....

The Choice Of Balls

The selection of balls is a more uncertain matter. The difficulty is two-fold. The professional club makers who make a limited number of balls out of good material cannot furnish supplies to the gener...

On The Playing Of Matches

When you have secured a good set of clubs and the right kind of ball, and have even learned to play a steady game, there is still much that you can do to improve upon your knowledge and enjoyment of g...

Giving And Taking Odds

The practice of giving and receiving bisques is by no means a bad method of handicapping in match play because it gives the inferior player a chance of playing his opponent on even terms as long as he...

The Etiquette Of Golf

The etiquette of golf should also be most carefully studied. You may not be a good player, but you may at least equal the very best exponents of the game in your manner of playing it. As far as the ru...

The Duties Of On-lookers

It may be useful to point out here to onlookers in the game that they also have duties to perform. If they care to follow a match they are bound in all courtesy to study the wishes of the players. The...

Chapter VI. Training And Tournament Play

There was a time when golf was played as a recreation. In those days any one would have ridiculed a definite system of training for the big events. But now that the game has become the main business o...

Training And Tournament Play. Part 2

Some years ago, when first-class players were not so plentiful, and record breaking was not a matter of everyday occurrence, Mr. Leslie Balfour-Melville, in playing for the medal of the Royal and Anci...

Training And Tournament Play. Part 3

If you follow this advice you will probably find yourself in the best condition when the tournament begins. But that is not all you have to consider. It is absolutely necessary that your mind should a...

Chapter VII. The Making Of A New Course

When the number of Scotchmen who have crossed the Atlantic is fully considered, it is rather surprising that the royal and ancient game should have been imported so recently as 1890 or thereabouts. It...

The Making Of A New Course. Part 2

The Scarcity Of Good Courses The enormous cost of making and maintaining a fine course in America is probably accountable for the fact that good courses are very few and far between. There is, perhap...

The Making Of A New Course. Part 3

Method Of Dealing With Inland Courses Having once settled the question of the inferiority of all inland courses, we may proceed to the discussion of the means toward producing the best results with t...

The Making Of A New Course. Part 4

This, then, is the first principle to observe in selecting distances: Place your holes so far apart that, with only one or two exceptions, they can be reached in one, two or three full shots. As you w...

The Making Of A New Course. Part 5

Mowing Machines The excellence of your putting greens depends, to a large extent, upon the kind of mowing machine you possess. The ordinary Philadelphia lawn mower of common use does not cut the gras...

The Making Of A New Course. Part 6

Summary These, then, are the main thing's to bear in mind, and I may repeat them shortly as follows: For the purpose of making an eighteen hole course, look out first for at least two hundred acres ...

Chapter VIII. Development Of The Game In America

If the courses on this side of the Atlantic fall far short of perfection, it must still be remembered that they are situated for the most part in regions where the average Briton would have despaired ...

The Governing Body

The organization of the game is also a peculiarity of its growth in the States. Golf has been played in Scotland from time immemorial, and yet there has never been a governing body which has had anyth...

The United States Golf Association

On the other hand, there was a very serious danger that American players, with their half digested notions of golf and their knowledge of most inferior courses, should go about to make some very radic...

The United States Golf Association. Continued

But granted that the first of these improvements is determined upon, I cannot see how the arrangement of the contest can possibly be bettered. The tournament will last five days, however large the ent...

The Hazard Rule

A full discussion of the weaknesses of the rules as they exist would be neither possible nor desirable at present.- But one example may be taken as the text of a few remarks upon the subject. The haza...

Club Matches

There is another development of the game in this country in the direction of increased interest in club matches, which has both advantages and disadvantages. Golf has never been regarded as a game for...

Chapter IX. Amateurs Abroad

There have been so many discussions of a somewhat futile nature upon the relative merits of British and American players, that it may be interesting to know exactly how golfers in America rank with th...

Amateurs Abroad. Part 2

The existence of this special class in England and Scotland is only of recent date,and so we need not despair of making a similar advance in this country before many years are past. The improvement in...

Amateurs Abroad. Part 3

Mr. John Ball. It is in the short game that he is mostly to be feared. When the average scratch player holes a ball with his mashie at a distance of thirty or forty yards, the feat is looked upon a...

The Rules Of Golf

As Revised By The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews In l891 With Rulings and Interpretations by the Executive Committee of The United States Golf Association. Preface At a meeting of the ex...

Rules of Golf

Rule 1 The game of golf is played by two or more sides, each playing its own ball. A side may consist of one or more persons. Ruling Of The U. S. G. A Two sides of single players constitute a match...

Rules of Golf. Part 2

Rule 9 After the balls are struck from the tee, the ball furthest from the hole to which the parties are playing shall be played first, except as otherwise provided for in the Rules. Should the wrong...

Rules of Golf. Part 3

Ruling Of The U. S. G. A Penalty for breach of this rule: In Match Play, if the ball has not been dropped in strict accordance with the rule, the opponent has the option of having the ball dropped a...

Rules of Golf. Part 4

Ruling Of The U. S. G. A Penalty incurred: In Match Play, loss of the hole. Where both balls are lost at the same time, neither side wins the hole, which should be called halved, irrespective of th...

Special Rules for Medal Play

Rule 1 In club competitions the competitor doing the stipulated course in fewest strokes shall be the winner. Rule 2 If the lowest score be made by two or more competitors, the ties shall be decide...

Etiquette Of Golf

The Following Customs Belong To The Established Etiquette Of Golf, And Should Be Observed By All Golfers: 1. No player, caddie or on-looker should move or talk during a stroke. 2. No player should p...

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